marital status certificate (for US citizen)

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muskrat
Posts: 15
Joined: Sat May 09, 2020 3:01 am

marital status certificate (for US citizen)

Post by muskrat » Tue Sep 14, 2021 4:11 pm

Hello,

I am in the process of acquiring a marriage status certificate as described here. My partner is a Finnish citizen.

According to the Digital and Population Data Services Agency:
The examination of impediments uses data from the Population Information System. If the Population Information System does not contain information on your or your spouse’s marital status, you must obtain and submit a marital status certificate issued by an authority of your home country. In some cases, the marital status certificate must be legalised.
I am currently in Finland and the easiest solution would be to make an appointment at the US embassy in Helsinki where I can "execute an affidavit of non-impediment". However, it appears that no appointments are available until mid November. If possible, I would like to get this certificate before November.

Are there any US citizens here who have experience obtaining a marriage status certificate from a US authority by other means? I'm wondering if I can do this remotely from Finland. Or is the US embassy in Helsinki my only option?

Thanks in advance!



marital status certificate (for US citizen)

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jenkkipoika
Posts: 15
Joined: Wed Aug 11, 2021 8:47 pm
Location: Mäntyharju, Finland

Re: marital status certificate (for US citizen)

Post by jenkkipoika » Tue Sep 14, 2021 5:42 pm

I got married in July to a Finnish citizen and handled my side of it in the USA so not sure how you could do it in Finland outside of the Embassy. The DVV wants a notarized document with an apostille either by the US Federal government or the Secretary of State from the state where you're from. I basically wrote my own "single-status affidavit" saying I was single and had no impediments to marriage and had it notarized where I was living which was DC at the time. Then I sent the document in to the Secretary of DC for the apostille. All that does is basically say the notary was commissioned in the District of Columbia and has a fancy seal of approval. It doesn't actually verify the document is true or not. The DVV accepted my single-status affidavit with that apostille.

The short of it is I don't know how you could do this from the state from where you're from without actually going there to have the document notarized. I asked the DVV if I could write up a single status affidavit in Finland and have it notarized here since it's not like DC was verifying my statement, but they told me no.
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FinlandGirl
Posts: 1329
Joined: Sat Nov 09, 2019 10:43 am

Re: marital status certificate (for US citizen)

Post by FinlandGirl » Tue Sep 14, 2021 7:19 pm

muskrat wrote:
Tue Sep 14, 2021 4:11 pm
I am in the process of acquiring a marriage status certificate as described here. My partner is a Finnish citizen.

According to the Digital and Population Data Services Agency:
The examination of impediments uses data from the Population Information System. If the Population Information System does not contain information on your or your spouse’s marital status, you must obtain and submit a marital status certificate issued by an authority of your home country. In some cases, the marital status certificate must be legalised.
I am currently in Finland and the easiest solution would be to make an appointment at the US embassy in Helsinki where I can "execute an affidavit of non-impediment". However, it appears that no appointments are available until mid November. If possible, I would like to get this certificate before November.

Are there any US citizens here who have experience obtaining a marriage status certificate from a US authority by other means? I'm wondering if I can do this remotely from Finland. Or is the US embassy in Helsinki my only option?
You would have to find a US authority that lets you make an affidavit of non-impediment online and DVV would have to accept it afterwards.

It is already requiring goodwill that Finnish authorities accept a mere affidavit without any actual proof, I would be surprised if DVV accepts it directly from a random foreign authority.

muskrat
Posts: 15
Joined: Sat May 09, 2020 3:01 am

Re: marital status certificate (for US citizen)

Post by muskrat » Tue Sep 14, 2021 7:57 pm

FinlandGirl wrote:
Tue Sep 14, 2021 7:19 pm
muskrat wrote:
Tue Sep 14, 2021 4:11 pm
I am in the process of acquiring a marriage status certificate as described here. My partner is a Finnish citizen.

According to the Digital and Population Data Services Agency:
The examination of impediments uses data from the Population Information System. If the Population Information System does not contain information on your or your spouse’s marital status, you must obtain and submit a marital status certificate issued by an authority of your home country. In some cases, the marital status certificate must be legalised.
I am currently in Finland and the easiest solution would be to make an appointment at the US embassy in Helsinki where I can "execute an affidavit of non-impediment". However, it appears that no appointments are available until mid November. If possible, I would like to get this certificate before November.

Are there any US citizens here who have experience obtaining a marriage status certificate from a US authority by other means? I'm wondering if I can do this remotely from Finland. Or is the US embassy in Helsinki my only option?
You would have to find a US authority that lets you make an affidavit of non-impediment online and DVV would have to accept it afterwards.

It is already requiring goodwill that Finnish authorities accept a mere affidavit without any actual proof, I would be surprised if DVV accepts it directly from a random foreign authority.
Yes, I agree. It seems unlikely.

muskrat
Posts: 15
Joined: Sat May 09, 2020 3:01 am

Re: marital status certificate (for US citizen)

Post by muskrat » Tue Sep 14, 2021 9:02 pm

jenkkipoika wrote:
Tue Sep 14, 2021 5:42 pm
I got married in July to a Finnish citizen and handled my side of it in the USA so not sure how you could do it in Finland outside of the Embassy. The DVV wants a notarized document with an apostille either by the US Federal government or the Secretary of State from the state where you're from. I basically wrote my own "single-status affidavit" saying I was single and had no impediments to marriage and had it notarized where I was living which was DC at the time. Then I sent the document in to the Secretary of DC for the apostille. All that does is basically say the notary was commissioned in the District of Columbia and has a fancy seal of approval. It doesn't actually verify the document is true or not. The DVV accepted my single-status affidavit with that apostille.

The short of it is I don't know how you could do this from the state from where you're from without actually going there to have the document notarized. I asked the DVV if I could write up a single status affidavit in Finland and have it notarized here since it's not like DC was verifying my statement, but they told me no.
Thanks, that's helpful.


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